The Power of Mindfulness: A Practical Guide

Mindfulness is the practice of being present and fully engaged with whatever we are doing at the moment. Mindfulness is free from distraction and judgment. It is being aware of our thoughts, feelings, and actions without getting caught up in them. Mindfulness is a powerful tool that can be used to enhance your emotional well-being, reduce stress and suffering, increase happiness, improve your overall quality of life, and mindfulness helps us to accept reality as it is. Mindfulness is something you can practice at home, school, or wherever you are. 

Mindfulness has its roots in ancient Eastern spiritual and philosophical traditions, particularly in Buddhism. At its core, mindfulness involves paying attention to the present moment with a sense of curiosity, openness, and acceptance. By having awareness of the present moment, we can get through challenging situations and have meaningful opportunities. 

Benefits of Mindfulness

• Increased emotional regulation 
• Decrease in ruminative thoughts and behaviors
• Increased activity of brain regions associated with positive emotion 
• Enhanced Immune response
• Decreased depression and anxiety 
• Decreased anger and emotional irritability
• Decreased cardiopulmonary and gastrointestinal symptoms
• Decreased psychological distress and increased sense of well-being
• Increased healing of psoriasis
• Improved functioning of the immune system in patients with HIV
• Increased focus, concentration, and attention
• Increase stability in relationships as being present and attentive improves communication and connection with others. 

Mindfulness Skills and Techniques

To begin to use mindfulness here are six skills you can incorporate into your daily life and start to experience the benefits of a better quality of life:

Observe

This means to notice your body sensations that come through your eyes, ears, nose, skin, and tongue. Pay attention on purpose to the present moment. Control your attention but not what you see. Push away nothing. Cling to nothing. Practice wordless watching by watching thoughts come into your mind and letting them go right by. Notice each feeling, rising and falling like waves in the ocean. 

Describe

Put words on the experience, when a feeling or thought arises or you do something to acknowledge it. For example, a thought “I can do this has come into my mind”. Label what you observe and put a name on your feelings. Label a thought as just a thought, a feeling as just a feeling, an action as just an action. Unglue your interpretations and opinions from the facts. Describe the who, what, when, and where that you observe. Just the facts remembering if you can’t observe it through your senses you can’t describe it. 

Participate

Throw yourself completely into the activities of the current moment. Do not separate yourself from what is going on in the moment. Become one with whatever you are doing, completely forgetting yourself. Throw your attention to the moment. Go with the flow. Respond with spontaneity. 

Nonjudgmentally

See, but don’t evaluate as good or bad. Accept each moment. Acknowledge the difference between the helpful and the harmful, the safe and the dangerous, but don’t judge them. When you find yourself judging, don’t judge your judging. 

One Mindfully

Rivet yourself to now. Be completely present to this one moment. Do one thing at a time. When your mind wanders, come back to one thing at a time. For example, when you are eating, eat. When you are walking, walk. When you are planning, plan. Let go of distractions. If other actions, or other thoughts, or strong feelings distract you, go back to what you are doing, again and again and again. Concentrate your mind. If you find you are doing two things at once, stop, go back to one thing at a time, this is the opposite of multitasking. Remember slow down to speed up. 

Effectively

Be mindful of your goals in the situation and do what is necessary to achieve them. Focus on what works. Don’t let your emotion mind get in the way of being effective. Play by the rules. Act as skillfully as you can. Do what is needed for the situation you are in, not the situation you wish you were in, not the situation that is fair, not the situation that is more comfortable. Let go of willfulness and practice with willingness. 

Try These Techniques to Practice Mindfulness

Body Scan Mediation 

This practice involves mentally scanning your body from head to toe, bringing awareness to any sensations, tension, or discomfort. It helps in releasing physical tension and promoting relaxation. Follow these steps:

• Lie down in a comfortable position and close your eyes.
• Take a few deep breaths to center yourself.
• Begin by focusing on your toes, noticing any sensations without trying to change them.
• Slowly move your awareness up through your body, part by part, until you reach the top of your head.
• Spend a few moments focusing on each area, breathing into any tension you observe.

Mindful Eating 

This practice involves paying full attention to the experience of eating, using all your senses to savor the food. Here’s how to practice mindful eating:

• Choose a meal or snack and find a quiet place to eat without distractions.
• Before eating, take a few moments to appreciate the appearance, smell, and texture of the food.
• Take small bites and chew slowly, noticing the flavors and sensations in your mouth.
• Pay attention to the act of swallowing and the feeling of the food nourishing your body.
• Eat at a slow pace, taking breaks to breathe and appreciate the experience.

Mindful Breathing 

This practice involves breathing in a calming word or a calming word of your choice such as peace and breathing out conflict. Another way to practice mindful breathing is to “drop into the pauses between inhaling and exhaling”. This means breathing in, notice the pause after inhaling (top of breath) then when breathing out notice the pause after exhaling (bottom of breath). At each pause let yourself “fall into” the center space within the pause. 

Other Mindfulness Techniques

• Color, read, clean, play cards, focus attention on a task you need to get done, do a puzzle, journal, draw, craft, use your favorite lotion, perfume, or soap mindfully. 
• Noticing five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. A hint, when in an overwhelming or intense stressful situation do this exercise backwards, five things you can taste, four things you can smell, three things you can hear, two things you can touch, and one thing you can see. 

Now you can effectively welcome mindfulness into your daily life and experience the benefits of having a more relaxed and balanced routine. Enjoy!